Northwestern does not want to remember the last time it played Nebraska. Coming off a season in which they won a share of the Big Ten title, the Wildcats were embarrassed by the Cornhuskers, 66-17, in the 2000 Alamo Bowl.
“I watched the game, I was at home,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “I flew back from Idaho and had a bunch of people over for a party at our house, and it kinda stunk. The wings were good, the food was good, but the party stunk. But that’s many, many moons ago.”
No. 9 Nebraska (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) enters this year’s game riding a wave of momentum after shutting down Michigan State last weekend. The Cornhuskers’ defense, known as the “Blackshirts” for its practice jerseys, is led by linebacker Lavonte David, who tops the team with 77 tackles, including seven tackles-for-loss.
David was a part of a dynamic tandem along with senior defensive tackle Jared Crick, but Crick tore his pectoral muscle and is out for the season. Fitzgerald is still wary of David, calling him one of the elite players in the conference.
“If he’s not the best linebacker in this conference or in the country, I’m not sure who is,” Fitzgerald said. “He’s got great ability to diagnose the play, he’s fast, he’s physical, he’s good in pass coverage, he’s the full package.”
As much as David has meant to Nebraska’s defense, running back Rex Burkhead has been more influential to the Cornhuskers’ offense. The junior is pacing the ninth-ranked Nebraska rushing attack with his 110 yards per game, good for third in the Big Ten.
Burkhead said at Big Ten Media Days he looks up to Oregon’s LaMichael James and Alabama’s Trent Richardson and tries to emulate the attributes they bring to the field.
“They make big, explosive plays,” Burkhead said. “That’s something I really want to do this year. They all have great vision and balance. If you watch Trent Richardson run, he takes a lot of hits but he’s still making moves and running through traffic. LaMichael James is the same way. He’s not the biggest in the world, but he can deliver a blow.”
The Nebraska running game will be a major problem for NU’s 95th-ranked run defense. The Cats gave up 319 yards on the ground to Indiana, including two 100-yard rushers.
Just as NU (3-5, 1-4) struggled to stop the quarterback-running back duo of Tre Roberson and Stephen Houston, it could be in trouble once again with the combo of Burkhead and quarterback Taylor Martinez. Martinez averages more than 80 yards per game on the ground for the Cornhuskers and has 17 total touchdowns this season.
NU has given up at least 150 yards on the ground in five of its last six games. Fitzgerald said that the power run game of Nebraska will be tough to defend.
“They’re very physical up front,” Fitzgerald said. “They do a really nice job schematically of playing with tempo and doing some things option-wise that are going to give us a lot of challenges.”
